Guest Review: A Tryst with Trouble – Alyssa Everett

A Tryst with Trouble by Alyssa Everett
Series:
Release Date:  April 1, 2011
Publisher:    Dorchester Publishing
Page Count:  304
Source:  NetGalley
Buy the book at: Amazon 

Dogged for years by painful gossip about his father’s homosexuality, the Marquess of Beningbrough—Ben, to his friends—has protected himself by becoming the ultimate man’s man. Passed over by suitor after suitor in favor of her pretty but vapid younger sister, clever, forthright Lady Barbara Jeffords has reached the disappointing conclusion most men are shallow, boorish clods. When a philandering footman turns up dead, the two square off: he’s sure she’s determined to pin the crime on his hapless young cousin, while she thinks he means to shift the blame to her sister. To find the real killer, Ben and Barbara must declare a truce that threatens to expose both their buried insecurities and their growing desire for each other.

Lady Barbara Jeffords has always been jealous of her younger sister Helen. All the men would skip right over Barbara and go straight to Helen. Barbara always believed her looks were nothing compared to that of her sister; she was too tall, her bosom to big and had flaming red hair. She is also very outspoken. After being passed over by suitors, especially the one who is now engaged to her sister, she has decided not to marry. She had hoped that man would propose to her but then once he had laid eyes on Helen, he proposed to Helen. Now that man and her sister are mixed up with a murder that occurred in her own house.

The Marquess of Beningbrough, Ben is the heir to a dukedom. He has always been the subject of rumors amongst the ton, due to his father. Since he went away to school, he had to hear about how his father had an unnatural interest in men. This caused him to be called princess, sweetheart and darling amongst his peers. He learned to use his fist while at school, which by the time he finished school, all the other boys were scared of him. He makes sure to not dress too nice, like the others in his class, to make sure rumors don’t start about him as well. He is then mixed up in the murder case involving his cousin and his fiancé, as well as Barbara.

Barbara is trying to protect her sister while Ben is trying to protect his cousin. Both Barbara and Ben are trying to make sure that the murder isn’t charges on the person they are trying to protect. They then decide to work together to find the true murderer. This truce the make with each other takes them both down a dangerous path, which puts both of their lives in danger. But the closer they get to the identity of the murderer, the closer Barbara and Ben grow together.

Barbara and Ben are both likeable characters. They start out arguing about every little thing they come across, but they are able to eventually open up to each other over things they would never tell their closest of friends. As they spend more time with one another, they are able to open up their hearts more.

Some of the secondary characters are less likeable, especially her sister Helen. The reader grows to hate her almost from the first instance you meet her. Even though she is supposed to be the most likeable of the sisters, the author makes you like Barbara more than Helen.

The murder mystery was very interesting. You are unsure of who did it. You are pulling out your own theories which each new clue you receive. Towards the end of the book, it felt rushed to solve the mystery. The beginning and middle of the book were going at a somewhat good past, but by the last 50 pages, the author starts rushing it. It was a good read; I didn’t want to put it down. I wanted to figure out who the real murderer was.

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